9

Using Assemb lies 101
When you disassemble or explode an assembly,
any tr a nsform animation applied to the assembly is
lost,andobjectsremainastheywereintheframe
at which the dissolution is performed. However,
objects retain any individual animation.
To transform or modify the objec ts within a n
assembly, you must first remove them from the
assembly, either temporarily or permanently. The
Open command lets you do this.
Compar ing Assembl ies wi th O ther
Selection Methods
Compared to the other metho ds you can use to
combine objects in 3ds Max, assembling is more
permanent than selection sets, but less permanent
than attaching objects.
• Selection sets (page 1–64):Formatemporary
collection of objects to which you apply the
current commands. As soon as you select
another object, the selection set is gone.
• Named selection sets (page 1–83):Letyou
reselectthesamepatternofobjects,butthe
positional relationship between those objects
(their transforms) m ight be different each t ime
you recall the named set.
• Assembled and g rouped (page 1–96) objects:
Maintain their positional relat ionships unless
you open the assembly and rearrange them. An
assembly a lso keeps its identity as an individual
object.
Each object in an assembly retains its modifier
stack, including its base parameters. At any
time,youcanopentheassemblytoeditan
object, and then close the assembly to restore
the assembly identity.
• Attached objects (see Editable Mesh (Object)
(page 1–1001)): Attached objects form a
single object. The modifier stacks of the
original objects are lost, including their base
parameters. You can regain the form of the
original objects by detaching them, but they
become plain meshes.
See also
Lights (page 2–1272)
Procedures
To inser t and place an existing a ssembly:
1.
Turn on AutoGrid (page 2–7).
2. Drag the assembly from a Web page (if it’s an
i-drop object (page 3–523))orfromyourlocal
disk and drop it into your scene, placing it on
any existing surface.
3. On the main toolbar, click Use Pivot
Point Center (page 1–446).
4. Position the a ssembly as you would any other
objecttoaimitinaspecificdirection.
5. If necessary, wire (page 1–108) the assembly
luminaire to its light source or sources.
6. Select the assembly, and then use the Modify
panel settings to adjust the intensity of the light
w ith the Dimmer cont rol.
To create your own luminair e:
1.
Create the geometry of the lighting fixture.
2. Create a light source (page 2–1274) or on the
Create panel, click Lights to add a standard
or photometric light to the geometry of the
lighting fixt ure you just made.
3. S elect all t he objects in the assembly, including
geometrical objects and lights.
Note: If using IK, leave the light targets out of
the assembly so that you can manipulate them
independently.
4. Choose Assembly menu > Assemble.
A dialog appears requestin g a name for the
assembly and that you specify a head object.